Meanwhile I am still on the lookout for a web server that can run a Java application as a CGI. I found a couple of freeware ones that appear to run the application properly, but I don't get any output on the page from a simple test CGI. I'm hoping the problem is something simple, as I really can't see any reason why it's not working. For cryin' out loud, all the app needs to do is support standard input and output streams to operate as a CGI.
While I wait for an internet connection, I've decided to work on another small project. A couple of folks have emailed me recently, saying that they appreciate some of the insights I've imparted in this developer diary. While I appreciate the sentiment, I see a problem. These diaries, if printed out and read end-to-end, go on for around 110 pages. That's a lot of wading to reach the ten pages or so of genuine insight buried within. Because of that, I've decided to collect together some of the best stuff into a single document.
I'm a big fan of Thomas Paine. His works, including Common Sense and Age of Reason are must-reads. The clarity of his arguments coupled with his rapier wit and unwillingness to pull punches no matter what the subject rendered him one of the most influential and controversial figures in a budding America. With the goal of duplicating the spirit, if not the subject, of his works, I am giving my page the lofty high-minded title of Game Development Common Sense.
Mind you, I don't intend for the page to just be another general game-development article. I intend for it to be a living document, a FAQ if you will, to which I will be occasionally adding or updating entries. While I'm no Thomas Paine, I'll at least be able to update my document, avoiding the problem he had with Age of Reason (in which part two of the book is basically a more-researched rewrite of part one than a continuation).
In any case, I hope to unveil it in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, if there's something that I posted in the past couple of years that you found particularly helpful, or if there was something I failed to cover or covered poorly, tell me.
